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Obliteration City

by Eli Chartkoff

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1.
Donatella 02:41
I wake up at the same time every day I sleep well I sleep in a silk nightgown The first thing I do is get out of bed My brother turned me blonde late one night When I was eleven, I have never looked back I put on my working clothes: tight black pants And of course high heels And I believe you should try to enjoy yourself If everything's under control and I'm on my own I pick up my bags and head for the car I prefer to speak to people face-to-face I like rock music, Lenny Kravitz And especially Prince I take a bath: scented oils, perfumed body cream The light goes out I like my bedroom, I usually fall asleep And I hear him in my ear He is torturing me, but still I believe he is happy I really believe, I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe.
2.
I've been studying Johnny Carson for several years When he falls out of rhythm he just finds another rhythm Not to lose your confidence, not to be afraid Take any kind of leap into the void. Obliteration City, Obliteration City I tell ya Take any kind of leap into the void. I saw a dead person when I was little I said: "what happened to that person?" My dad said: "he disintigrates into light." I thought that seemed pretty good He goes, he goes with God It makes you feel like, feel like you're not alone. It hit me when I was like seven With my little Brownie socks cuffed Santa Claus did not turn me on Easter Bunny didn't turn me on But God turned me on Little Richard turned me on.
3.
When I was married, things were better We were doing fairly well I used to have a savings but I had to cash out During the divorce. I live paycheck to paycheck I have no savings at all I can't always pay my bills There are bills that I just can't pay. And I'll be one of those people who works 'till they drop dead. I don't go out, don't take vacations I try not to drive too much I'm not looking for another partner I'd be bringing somebody down. I have given up any thoughts of A better life for myself I just focus on my kids I'm sorry that this was so bleak.
4.
Where I work, the most boring work you can do Repetition, the most boring work you can do I'm thinking all the time about everything It fucks with your mind, it's like a prison. See this is like a lost dreams thing That's what I'm thinking when I'm in here Ten hours is a long time doing this I'm gonna get the hell out of here. I wanna get out of here if I can. It's bad enough you got problems Everybody's got shit on their minds This is job, it's so boring, you start to obsess, man Money isn't worth that much to me.
5.
Jam/I'm Real 04:31
Living in America, there's nothing wrong Alone from night to night you find me It's all over, we're leaving tomorrow Rio de Janiero, Brazil. And jam, I'm real. Out on love you'll find me. Wait a minute, I just got here I wanna say a lot of things, I love you 'Cause I look good, and I smell good And make love good. I'm not gonna leave, gonna stay here. Danke schön.
6.
Most of the time I'm out in the streets Looking around, my American dream Is to be famous, most of the time. Most of the time I dream I can fly Be all the way up there on the top But I don't see how, I just want to be on TV. Riding around in a limousine, most of the time in a limousine Just looking normal in a limousine. Instead of coming in at 8:00 And leaving at 8 at night Maybe I could invent a jet pack and wind up a millionaire. Three guys jumped me, I was walking down the street You got to keep your head clear They say never look back, in real life you gotta look back. I have that driving feeling, most of the time. I want to be on TV, most of the time.
7.
He kissed me on the cheek and I kissed him Everybody saw it I never thought my feet were on the ground I may never see him again I wish that I could get to know him. I'm just one of millions There has to be more There's just so many people And so many planets Yes, there has to be more. I put out my magazine It was after he died It cost me almost my whole bank account They didn't think I had it in me.
8.
I was born in San Francisco My father was a scientist, he made discoveries My mother was a housewife, we grew up in Queens. I was kind of happy 'til I got older When I was 17 I started having problems My mother kicked me out of the house And gave me ten dollars. But you know, where would I go? I don't know. Can't seem to escape anywhere I go. Lived in a private school for 5 years I don't remember much after that Except I got older And started roaming around the streets. I'm not really much in love with life I don't mean to make you feel sorry for me But you know, where would I go? I don't know. How would I like to be remembered? I really don't care Don't want to be remembered by anybody here I've lead a hard life, I've done bad things too. But people won't leave me alone out there They just won't leave me alone But you know, where would I go? I don't know.
9.
Gwyneth 03:14
Oysters and cocktail sauce, and then A baked and stuffed lobster and french fries I would have a baguette and a cheese course For my dessert, and red wine. I drank like crazy when the kids were babies. How else could I get through my day?
10.
Gia 03:55
I'm going to school for cinematography I'm going to make a big, big splash My favorite? What was his name? He made "Reds," what else did he make? I know he worked a lot with Bertolucci. I'm still in shape everybody, I'm still alive. You know, what can I say? I'm still alive. My skin looks bad, but it's okay Just a little scrubbing, going to the spa I'm enjoying the spa, the health spa. I'm just a little bit crazy I shake too much, my nerves are bad Just because I haven't finished my growing pains But I'll be fine I'm gonna take it on the road And show you motherfuckers what I can do.

about

All of the lyrics for all of the songs on Obliteration City were adapted from interviews with various people, some famous, some not. Some of the interviews came from magazines, some came from books, some were TV interviews I found on YouTube, some came from documentaries, but they're all real things that real people said. I re-arranged/edited excerpts from the interviews into lyrics and set them to music.

This album was released on cassette by Chain Letter Collective. More information about the album & interviews is here:
www.chainlettercollective.com/we-buy-the-noise/2017/4/15/donatella-versace-video-premier-eli-chartkoff-the-chain-letter-interview


Sources/citations for the interviews can be found in each song's individual description.

credits

released April 25, 2017

Produced by Eli Chartkoff and Luke Ehret (unless otherwise noted). Mixed by Luke Ehret and mastered by Sean Foye. Cover art by Brooke Sauer.

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Eli Chartkoff Los Angeles, California

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